38th Annual ARSC/SAM Conference (Cleveland, Ohio, March 10-14, 2004)
Travel
Information
By Air
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is served by at least eleven commercial airlines and is a major hub for Continental Airlines. Southwest Airlines probably offers the most discount flights to Cleveland. On average, the busiest times at Hopkins are 6:00 to 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Air travelers will enjoy the ease and speed of getting from the airport to the conference hotel, for just $1.50, via Cleveland’s rapid-transit system (details below).
By Train
Amtrak operates two routes that serve Cleveland: the “Lake Shore Limited” (connecting Boston, New York, Albany, and Chicago) and the “Capitol Limited” (connecting Washington DC, Pittsburgh, and Chicago). For schedule information, call (800) 872-7245 or visit: www.amtrak.com.
Cleveland’s Amtrak station is located at 200 Cleveland Memorial Shoreway, about one mile from the conference hotel. The station offers rental-car and taxi service, but the easiest connection (during the day), direct to Tower City Center, is via the RTA Waterfront Line (details below).
By Car
From the East: Take I-90 West, which merges with Ohio Route 2 (to form the “Cleveland Memorial Shoreway”), at the eastern approach to the city. Past East 55th Street, follow the signs for Route 2 West (not I-90), and exit the Shoreway at East 9th Street. Turn left, to head south on East 9th. Go three traffic lights, to St. Clair Avenue. Turn right and take St. Clair about four blocks, to West 3rd Street. Turn left onto West 3rd and go two blocks to the end of West 3rd, at Superior Avenue—the site of the hotel.
From the West: Take I-90 East to the Ontario Street exit (171B). The exit ramp will put you on Ontario Street, heading north. Drive approximately 0.6 mile to St. Clair Avenue. Turn left onto St. Clair and go one block to West 3rd Street. Turn left onto West 3rd and go two blocks to the end of West 3rd, at Superior Avenue—the site of the hotel.
From the South, via I-71: I-71 North merges with I-90, on the southern approach to downtown Cleveland. Leave I-71/90 at the Ontario Street exit (171B). The exit ramp will put you on Ontario Street, heading north. Drive approximately 0.6 mile to St. Clair Avenue. Turn left onto St. Clair and go one block to West 3rd Street. Turn left onto West 3rd and go two blocks to the end of West 3rd, at Superior Avenue—the site of the hotel.
From the South, via I-77: Near Cleveland, leave I-77 at the I-90 East exit (on your left), following the sign for “Erie PA and East 9th Street.” Take the East 9th Street exit (163C) and merge onto East 14th Street. Take a slight right onto Orange Avenue / Ohio Route 8 / Ohio Route 87, which becomes Ohio Route 14 and then Ontario Street. Continue north on Ontario Street, approximately 0.6 mile, to St. Clair Avenue. Turn left onto St. Clair and go one block to West 3rd Street. Turn left onto West 3rd and go two blocks to the end of West 3rd, at Superior Avenue—the site of the hotel.
Parking Options
1. The Renaissance Cleveland Hotel offers indoor valet-only parking at $16 per day. Unlike the other parking options listed below, the Renaissance daily rate includes unlimited in-and-out privileges. The garage is attached to the hotel building, with a street entrance on Superior Avenue, at West 3rd Street.
2. An outdoor self-park “surface” lot operated by Imperial Parking (IMPARK) is located across Superior Avenue from the hotel, at the corner of Superior and West 3rd Street. This lot has a Pay Station that accepts credit cards and paper currency. Rates are:
- $9 Weekday Maximum
- $6 Weekday Early Bird Special (arriving before 9 a.m.)
- $5 after 1 p.m. weekdays, and all day Saturday and Sunday.
3. Tower City Center Parking maintains a large lot, located beneath and behind the Tower City complex. On weekdays, the minimum self-park charge is $3, with all-day (24-hour) parking priced at a maximum of $11. Parking is free on weekends (12:01 a.m. Saturday until midnight Sunday). An escalator and elevators connect the Tower City lot with “The Avenue at Tower City”—a short indoor walk from the lobby of the Renaissance hotel. Note that the principal street access to the Tower City lot is on Huron Road, just west of Ontario Street. Caution: For indoor parking, the maximum permissible vehicle height is 6'-11"; also, vehicles over 7'-2" must use the Canal Road entrance to the outdoor lot. A localized street map and more details can be found at this Web page: http://www.towercityparking.com/default.asp
4. Most on-street parking within walking distance of Tower City and the conference hotel is metered and therefore impractical for long-term parking on weekdays. However, meters need not be fed after 6:30 p.m. or on weekends. To complicate matters, parking on some nearby streets is completely prohibited from one hour before until two hours after “major events” at Jacobs Field and Gund Arena. Your vehicle might be towed if you choose to park on those streets, at the wrong time. Check the signs carefully and don’t park in a space with a meter covered by a cloth or plastic bag!
By Taxi
One-way taxi fare from Hopkins airport to downtown Cleveland is likely to run $20 to $25, plus tax. One lower-cost alternative at the airport, the Royal Fleet Shuttle Service, provides transport to and from downtown hotels for $10 per person, each way.
Please note that taxis are not plentiful in most Cleveland neighborhoods. Locals seldom use them. While it’s easy to “hail a cab” at the airport or on Public Square, a phone call will probably be required to order a taxi in other parts of town. For more transportation options, please read on …
By
Rapid Transit
between the Airport and Tower City Center
We recommend that conference attendees use the light-rail passenger service of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA). It takes less than thirty minutes to ride the RTA Red Line train from the airport to downtown Cleveland’s Tower City Station, and the one-way fare is just $1.50. This is by far the least expensive option for public transport, to and from the airport.
By the way, locals refer to RTA trains as “The Rapid”—to distinguish RTA rail service from the RTA bus lines.
RTA’s Airport Station is located on the lowest level of the Cleveland Hopkins terminal complex. To reach the entrance to the Red Line Rapid, take the escalators or elevators (located near the center of the Ticketing and Baggage Claim levels) down to the Rapid.
You’ll need to pay your fare with exact change, but a bill changer is available, near the RTA turnstile.
The Red Line is the only RTA Rapid Line at the airport. Departing trains go in just one direction: east, from the airport toward downtown Cleveland. (No chance of confusion here!)
A Red Line train leaves the Airport Station every fifteen minutes, between 4:30 a.m. and 12:59 a.m., seven days a week. Take the train to the Tower City Station, in the heart of downtown Cleveland.
For
your eventual departure home, be sure to allow plenty of time for the
trip from downtown to the airport. Please note that the last westbound
train for the airport departs Tower City Station at 12:24 a.m., each
day.
within Tower City Center
Get off the RTA train at Tower City Station. The Rapid platform is on the basement level of Tower City Center. Leave the platform and ride the escalator up. When you get off the escalator, you will be on the middle level of Tower City Center. Go first to your left (just a few paces, to reach a main corridor), turn right (into that corridor), and continue walking in that same northerly direction, toward Public Square.
When you reach the front of the Tower City complex, you’ll be in a large open foyer with a high vaulted ceiling and many brass-and-glass doors that open onto Public Square. Don’t go outdoors; instead, turn to your left and look for a large brass “Renaissance Cleveland Hotel” sign, over the entrance to a passageway. In the passage, walk past a little newsstand, go through a set of brass doors, and continue up a staircase into the lobby of the Renaissance. The Front Desk will be on your left.
RTA Waterfront Line and Downtown Street Map
We urge everyone to print a one-page map, from this RTA Web Page:
http://www.riderta.com/pdfs/maps/WFLmap.pdf
This simplified map shows major downtown streets, key tourist sites, and the route of the RTA Waterfront Line. The Waterfront Line provides convenient transportation from Tower City Center to the “Entertainment Flats,” the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, the Great Lakes Science Center, and Cleveland’s Amtrak station—for $1.50 each way.
If you expect to travel beyond the hotel on your arrival day, you might wish to purchase an All-Day Pass (at the Airport Rapid turnstile), for $3.00. The pass (also available at the Tower City Station) will allow you to ride anywhere within the entire RTA system—via trains or buses—until 3:00 a.m. the following day.
